Apple is listening to the "screeching voices of the minority" and will postpone their plan to scan every Apple device for child porn. They told US media that "based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others, we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to collect input and make improvements before releasing these critically important child safety features". I'm sure the steaming pile of bad PR about this and an impending iPhone launch has nothing to do with it. Apple's backflip got the attention of our eSafety Commissioner, who said on Twitter that "totally caved on doing the right thing" and "regulation, here we come!".
Texas has passed an absolute shocker of an anti-abortion law (some info on how crap it is if you're interested), which includes a $10,000 bounty for dobbing in anyone getting, or helping someone to get an abortion. A website was set up by an anti-abortion group allowing people to snitch, but GoDaddy, not wanting anything to do with these freaks, told them to get the fuck off their infrastructure. The anti-abortion snitch site now lives on the same trash heap Gab, Parler and 8chan. This law also has ramifications for tech companies at large. Section 230 protects them hosting pro-abortion material, but they still have to comply with subpoenas for user data in any case relating to this law.
In 2015, Juniper told users that it had a security breach and found "unauthorised code" in its NetScreen range of products. Back then a researcher found an algorithm in the product that was written by the NSA, most likely an intentional backdoor put there by Juniper at the insistence of the NSA. What's new however, is Bloomberg discovering that Juniper's breach was a result of that backdoor getting exploited by the Chinese. They used the NSA's backdoor to "potentially" spy on users of Juniper NetScreen gear and then used that same backdoor to deploy their own backdoor should the original one ever be patched! Let this be a lesson to anyone stupid enough to think that deliberate security holes remain exclusive to the one that put it there.
Ken Tsang has busted his arse making COVID-19 Near Me, filling in a massive gap our governments have left so punters like us can find places to get vaccinated. He published a blog post explaining how much of a shitshow it has been to compile all the scattered sources of data regarding vaccine availability. Almost every vaccine provider is listed on HealthDirect (hosted by the federal government), but availability info is not. Each state government is using their own booking platform, made worse in NSW which has left it up to local health districts to roll their own. Every pharmacy franchise has its own system. Most GPs use either HotDoc or HealthEngine, but the info there is often incorrect. Meanwhile, NZ has a single centralised booking system for the entire country.
📻 Aisha - Death In Vegas
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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.